APSU opens new pre-professional health office on campus

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The room, on the first floor of the Austin Peay State University
Sundquist Science Complex, is softly lit with lamps shining against beige walls. To
the left is a plush leather couch, and in the back, beneath a white dry erase board,
is a table for students to gather and study.

The space feels almost like the living room of someone’s home or an exclusive lounge
in a private club. But this calming area is actually the new office of the Pre-Professional
Health programs at APSU.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The room, on the first floor of the Austin Peay State University
Sundquist Science Complex, is softly lit with lamps shining against beige walls. To
the left is a plush leather couch, and in the back, beneath a white dry erase board,
is a table for students to gather and study.

The space feels almost like the living room of someone’s home or an exclusive lounge
in a private club. But this calming area is actually the new office of the Pre-Professional
Health programs at APSU.

“Why do we have this physical space?” Dr. Cindy Taylor, associate dean of the College
of Science and Mathematics, asked. She went on to explain the various reasons: for
the officers of the student group, Pre-Professional Health Society, to have a place
to meet; to provide students with a quiet space where they can research the professional
health school materials; to allow advisers to meet with several students uninterrupted;
and to have a place to meet with prospective students and their parents.

“We want to recruit students in the same way the football team recruits, showing
them our best,” she said. “This is a really nice room that we’re very, very proud
of.”

Last year, APSU developed a new pre-professional health minor with the goal of providing
guidance to students looking to specialize in the pre-professional areas such as pre-medicine,
pre-pharmacy, pre-physical therapy, pre-occupational therapy, pre-physician’s assistant
and pre-veterinary. By discussing the minor with their academic adviser, students
may also discover more information about other medical profession options they might
not have previously considered.

“So many students come in and say I’m pre-med, but there are so many other options
that might fit more of the lifestyle they want or the time they want to dedicate to
a professional health school,” Taylor said last year. “There are a lot of different
health career options they’re just not aware of. Instead of just giving up and saying,
‘I can’t do anything,’ we want to assist them in finding their best fit.”

A new student organization, the Pre-Health Professional Society, was also formed earlier
last year to help provide a support network for these students. Members will be able
to mingle with like-minded students in the new office and learn what they need to
do to prepare for graduate programs.

“It’s just once more instance where APSU is going out of its way to take care of its
students,” Samantha Monk, APSU student and society president, said. “I’m very, very
appreciative of this.”

Information on the new minor or the new office space, including a planning guide instructing
students on what courses to take, is available online at www.apsu.edu/cosm/preprofessional-health-minor.